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A Daily Lexicon of Trustworthy Data

005·76

break

/breɪk/ - n.

1 [colloq.] A difference between two numbers, resolved by writing down why it is fine and changing neither.Keep. Punchy.This is the problem.

Working definition

2. In reconciliation, a discrepancy between two datasets that should agree; each break must be identified, explained, and resolved.

Filed

Seen in the wild · 6

Who Owns the Event Definition? The Registry Knows; the Org Doesn'tOwner Missing
Everyone Agreed on the YAML. Nobody Agreed on the Owner.Definition Drift
The Build Checks the Shape. It Will Not Enforce the Promise.Owner Missing
Your Pipeline Learned to Call Yesterday's Breakage NormalDefinition Drift
The data contract grew up. It stopped being a schema and started being a governance control.Definition Drift
Data observability raised a fortune to watch the number. Defining the number raised nothing.Process Debt

See also

consistencyThe state of two systems agreeing, usually because no one has joined them yet.
data quality ruleA test that fires, raises a ticket, and waits to learn whether anyone meant it.
reconciliationThe monthly ritual of explaining why two numbers differ, after which both are kept.